NBA Preview: A look at the Southwest Division

1. San Antonio Spurs: There wasn’t much roster movement for the Spurs over the summer. Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair are gone, as is a retired Tracy McGrady. Tony Parker will again be the go-to guy, while vets Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will play their usual major roles. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green both made big strides last season, and the Spurs are going to keep doing exactly what they did last year, which sent them into the NBA Finals.

2. Houston Rockets: The Rockets, by far, had the most interesting summer of any team. They added Dwight Howard to a squad led by James Harden. The Rockets’ core group (Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, Chandler Parsons, Patrick Beverley) will get help from some nice pickups like Omri Casspi. The Rockets are a deep and intriguing team heading into the season.

3. Memphis Grizzlies: Defense is not a problem for the Grizzlies, who are led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol. Then there are Zach Randolph and Tony Allen. If the Grizzlies have a lot of nights when shots are falling, they become a really dangerous team.

4. Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks are a couple of years removed from an NBA title, and few pieces of that team remain. They made a lot of roster changes over the summer, but Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis might not be good enough pieces around Dirk Nowitzki to propel Dallas back into excellence.

5. New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans have a loaded backcourt with talented guards to spare — Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Anthony Morrow, Tyreke Evans to name a few — but they still have a ways to go to be able to sneak into a playoff spot.

Take two: F Zach Randolph and C Marc Gasol. These two have put the Grizzlies back on the map. Reigning defensive player of the year Gasol is a lot different than, but compliments bruiser Randolph in the paint. The result is a front court that is tough to beat.